Reporter’s diary: Videos, rumours put officials in rough waters

The thirty-second video shows a minister based in north Tamil Nadu sitting at a dining table discusses the land deal and the related commission. “As a Minister, I know how to use my power and I will use it, but the argument that the Minister has taken the broker money is unwarranted,” he was heard saying. There are also a few men involved in the conversion asking for the break up to discussed in the land deal.

This is the second video going viral in the social media targeting the AIADMK ministers. The earlier audio clip leak was alleged to be between Minister D Jayakumar and a young woman. The woman was heard talking about abortion and demanding money for hospital expenses. But, the Minister clarified that the pregnant woman audio was doctored by vested interests. The police had also registered a case and are investigating the matter.

Another rumour doing rounds is that of an official who accepted a 2-million-dollar bribe from Cognizant to issue a planning permit for its construction works at the sprawling Siruseri campus in Chennai. It may be noted that Department of Justice, US, named two former high-ranking executives of the technology company Cognizant in an alleged $2 million bribery case involving TN officials.